Alleghany rallies from double digits to advance to regional quarterfinals

LOW MOOR – It was quite the finish on Friday night in Low Moor in the Class 3, Region C first round as No. 7 Alleghany who trailed for a better part of the entire game, rallied with a big fourth quarter to hold off No. 10 Rockbridge County 48-45 to advance to Monday’s regional quarterfinals.

 

The reigning outright Three Rivers District Champion Cougars looked down and out during the third quarter when they fell behind a dozen points at 31-19 following a layup from Ruby Goodhart. 

 

This was coming off a second quarter ending where Rockbridge broke a 17-17 tie with two minutes remaining in the first half and scored eight straight points to take a 25-17 lead.

 

The Cougars, after seeing the Wildcats outscore them 14-2 in a span of three minutes, turned the game around.

 

Alleghany went on an 8-0 scoring run during a four-minute period to cut the deficit down to four points at 31-27.

 

The momentum would be halted as Lola Mulitalo executed an old-fashioned 3-point play to give the Wildcats a 34-27 lead. RCHS would take a 36-32 lead going into the fourth quarter.

 

After Rockbridge made a quick bucket to open the fourth quarter, the Wildcats took a 38-32 lead. 

 

It would be the last lead RCHS would have.

 

Rockbridge went on a scoring drought for over five minutes where during that time Alleghany took control of the game as they scored 10 points in a row in large part on back-back 3-pointers from seniors Bryce Leitch and Kelsey Nicely. 

 

Now with their biggest lead of the game at 42-38, the Cougars seemed to have all the momentum their way.

 

With 2:27 remaining, Abigail Bouchard halted the momentum for a moment for the Cougars as she connected on a 3-pointer to cut the deficit down to one point at 42-41.

 

However, seconds later, Ja’Kara Heighter broke free up the court as Alleghany faced defensive pressure, which allowed Heighter to make an open layup to push the Cougars lead back to three points at 44-41.

 

Down by one possession with just over a minute remaining, Rockbridge looked to either tie or take the lead and did not get a chance to do either as they were called for a three second violation.

 

Needing to extend the game, the Wildcats fouled Nicely who went to the free throw line and made both of her attempts to push the Cougars lead back to four points at 46-42.

 

Down but not out, Emma Clark, a Bridgewater College commit, hit a huge 3-pointer to keep Rockbridge in the game at 46-45. 

 

Once again looking to extend the game the Wildcats needed to foul, and they sent Leitch to the foul line where she knocked down the game’s biggest free throws to give AHS a 48-45 lead.

 

Having seen their double-digit lead vanish in the second half, enlarged in part due to costly turnovers, Rockbridge, looking to tie the game, would not have a chance on their next possession as they committed their 17th turnover. 

 

With two seconds left the Wildcats fouled Leitch who needed to make one free to seal the win. Leitch missed both attempts, however, RCHS was out of timeouts and could not stop the clock. Goodhart, who grabbed the rebound, had to throw a hail-Mary to tie the game, but her attempt was well defended as the clock’s final buzzer sounded off.

 

Leitch led all scorers with 29 points, while Nicely added 11 in which seven came in the fourth quarter. Heighter, Leitch, and Ty’Aieja Smith each had three steals apiece. Nicely led the team in rebounds with eight while Smith brought down seven.

 

Rockbridge gave it their all in what was their first regional tournament appearance in six years. The Wildcats in their last two seasons had only won four games. 

 

Goodhart led Rockbridge in scoring with 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Clark had nine on three made 3-pointers.

 

3-point shooting is what kept Rockbridge in the game. The Wildcats shot 9-for-22 from 3-point range, while Alleghany was only 5-for-29.

 

It was the free throw shooting that was the biggest difference maker. The Cougars made 19-of-25 attempts, while the Wildcats made 6-of-7.

 

These two programs are both leaving their district at the conclusion of the school year and will be joining one another in the Shenandoah District this Fall.

 

Alleghany (17-6) will now head to Crozet on Monday to play No. 2 seed Western Albemarle (17-4) in the regional quarterfinals at 6:00 p.m.